


Doubt

by rainsonata



Category: Elsword (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Mastermind with a short smaller ponytail, and PT wishing he would get his second job change already, because I love writing about transitioning tracers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-07 19:13:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19215754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainsonata/pseuds/rainsonata
Summary: Psychic Tracer is still trying to perfect his nasod armor.  He is mad because Arc Tracer recently acquired the Mastermind chip and is growing up faster than he did.





	Doubt

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on March 15, 2015 on tumblr. 
> 
> What happens when my PT is still a baby at level 33 while MM is level 51. Also, I wanted to write about MM still having AT’s hair and baby face, lol. Tracers awkwardly transitioning to their second jobs is something I always wanted to write.

Psych blew at the bangs of his own hair, annoyed that he was stuck with this guy again.  The Psychic Tracer had his hands in the pockets of his outer black jacket.  

The dungeon was the interior of a church.  Intrinsic designs were carved deep into the wooden columns supporting the structure.  Light from outside flooded through the mosaics that decorated the ceiling.

What was the name of the place again?  Its name slipped from his memory.  Well, didn’t matter…it was just a name after all.  What difference would it make?  He glared at his companion next to him, who wore a white hooded trench coat that looked like it was a size too big.          

“What’s with that face?” The other asked him when he noticed the angry leer Psych was sending to him.  

“What face?” Psych scowled.  It was already bad enough having to admit that he couldn’t pursue the dungeon on his own, but having to team up with him?  It left the tracer in a bad mood.  

It has been three years and Psych was still working on perfecting his nasod armor.  When he first discovered it as a tracer, he saw its usefulness and felt the need to advance it further.  Years later and he still couldn’t find the solution to making it stronger.  What was he missing from the equation?  Meanwhile, Arc had found the proper material to design a new model for his dynamo and created a new program called Mastermind.  

Psych looked at Arc…oh wait, no… _Mastermind_ , with envy.  The tracer wanted to roll his eyes at the new title.  Even though they were the same person, Arc recently upgraded his dynamo before Psych did.  With a new AI system installed, it became apparent very quickly that Arc was miles ahead of the tracer in terms of fighting.  He had the advantage of having his dynamo automatically respond to any external force that threatened him.  It was lazy of him to have the dynamo do most of the work, although it was clever of him to connect his weapons to his thoughts.  Not that Psych would admit it.       

“Psych?” Mastermind poked the side of the tracer’s cheek.   

“What?” He turned his head away.  “Stop doing that,” Psych whined, rubbing his cheek.

“Don’t be like that,” he frowned.  “I thought you said you needed help gathering material for your research.”

Psych stopped himself from groaning when he was reminded by Mastermind.  He noticed that Mastermind was shifting underneath the many layers of his clothes, clearly uncomfortable with the extra weight placed on his shoulders.  Good, he deserved it.  That’s what he gets for wearing white in a monster infested dungeon in the middle of the summer.  The dungeon may be inside a building, but that didn’t stop the place from being damp and humid, an excellent combination to irritate both them.     

“Let’s just get through this dungeon and hurry up,” Psych said.  He just wanted to get the materials and go.  The monsters within the dungeon should provide enough material to create a prototype to amplify his power.  

He waited for a response from Mastermind, but instead saw him walking ahead of him, using his dynamos speed through.  The scientist ordered his weapons to run a couple of installments, having them spiral in a circular formation before shooting out electricity at the monsters below.  Psych watched him toss the monsters’ remains aside, picking up the spare parts from dissembled limbs before moving on.  The tracer threw in a few attacks, but saw that the scientist already took care of most of the monsters.  Mastermind turned his head around when he realized that the tracer wasn’t behind him.  

“What are you waiting for?” He sounded impatient.  

“I…just had a problem getting the dynamos to work, the useless junk!”  Psych claimed, not willing to admit that he was occupied watching the scientist.           

“Problems, huh?”  

“Shut up.”  The tracer didn’t have to see Mastermind wearing that pathetic smug smile.  He could hear it in his voice.

“If you don’t hurry,” Mastermind grinned.  “I might steal all your parts.”

Psych gave the bastard a kick, but the scientist easily dodged it, laughing at his attempt.  Mastermind stopped when he felt sudden shift in weight that brought him crashing to the ground.  Psych tugged at the end of his long hair, making the other lose his balance.  He revealed a wide grin as Mastermind rubbed his head.      

“What was that for?” The scientist growled and ran his gloved hand through the bangs of his hair that covered his left eye.  He felt around with one hand for his headband that went around the back of his head.  The old wired headband he once wore as an Arc Tracer had been disposed of and upgraded to newer version.  

“That’s for the stupid comment you made,” Psych smirked, letting go of Mastermind’s hair.  “You should tie your hair if you’re going to keep slowing me down like that.”  After weeks of becoming a mastermind, his hair was starting to reach to the length of his shoulders.  Lazy bastard never got around to getting a haircut, claiming he was too busy with his research.

“You’re so childish,” Mastermind complained.  “This is why you still haven’t perfected your nasod armor.”

Psych’s hand twitched in anticipation of attacking the scientist.  Mastermind didn’t act this arrogant when he was an Arc Tracer.  Arc preferred keeping his judgmental thoughts to himself and wasn’t as chatty as he was now.  It was often Psych who gloated about his strength when both of them were tracers.  How ironic.       

“That has nothing to do with my research!”

Psych mentally stopped himself from throwing a punch at the asshole.  The smart ass would probably avoided it and that would be a waste of energy when he could use it on a monster instead.  Instead, the tracer threw a couple of punches at a metal gate, feeling satisfaction when it fell over with little effort.  That satisfaction quickly disappeared when he saw the next room littered with monsters, covering nearly every surface area.       

 _Glitter Necromancers_ , he recognized them among the army of creatures.  Just what he needed.  Judging from their numbers, enough to provide a sufficient supply of Moonstones.  Psych’s eyes widened, trying to count the monsters before him.  There were too many to count with two hands.  With little hesitation, he sprinted through the metal gate with his dynamo racing behind him.  He launched himself high into the air with the help of his weapons and took aim.  Spouts of electricity rained down as he hurled a ball of electricity at them.  The attack hit the creatures straight in the chest, causing an explosion that hit those around them.    

Footsteps tailed closely behind him.   _They must be Mastermind’s_ , the tracer thought, as he kicked aside a Glitter Necromancer that was chewing on the sleeve of his jacket.  The creature shrieked for a few seconds before Psych threw in a punch to silence it for good.  The tracer forced the dead monster’s jaw open to grab the Moonstone from its mouth.  He inspected the stone for any indents it may have before stuffing it in his backpack.

Psych glanced over his shoulder to see Mastermind fighting multiple glitter monsters.  His dynamo formed a barrier between the scientist and the monsters, allowing him to avoid the worse attacks.  Mastermind carefully aimed at the line of monsters and blasted them away with Panzer Buster, cleaning the floor with one hit.  The tracer cursed out loud when he saw that none of the monsters gave up any Moonstones.     

“I win again.” Psych nearly jumped when Mastermind appeared to come out of nowhere.  He spouted out a bundle of incomprehensible words that came out as jargon.

“Don’t sneak up like that!”  The tracer huffed, messy hair flaring up with electricity flying from his left eye angrily.  “And don’t make me laugh!  I had more kills than you!”  

Psych’s declaration was met with silence.  A look of concern spread across Mastermind’s face, an expression that puzzled and scared him.  He noticed that the scientist tied his hair into a small ponytail that didn’t even reach the base of his neck.  So he decided to follow the tracer’s advice after all.  

The scientist walked up to him, still wearing the same expression as before.  Psych stepped back, but Mastermind caught hold of him by the arm and rolled up the right jacket sleeve.  Underneath the sleeve revealed a layer of his skin scraped off, enough that it hurt when Mastermind touched the injured area with one finger.  Blood oozed out of the opening, dripping onto the scientist’s white gloves when he held it under inspection.     

After an awkward pause, Mastermind finally said, “Your arm is bleeding.”  Psych felt uncomfortable at the sudden attention he was getting.   

He ignored Psych’s disgruntle mumbling and held him by the hand, just in case Psych decided to run off on his own.  With one hand, Mastermind opened the backpack he had with him and took out a bottle of rubbing alcohol and fresh bandages.  Psych twisted his arm in pain, feeling the bits of the extra skin being peeled off by the scientist to make a clean cut.   

“So your research led you here?” Mastermind asked him while opening the bottle.  The too familiar stinging smell floated from the containing, sending Psych’s senses into a feeling of dread.  Psych gave him a curt nod to his question, trying not to think about his arm.  

“You’re afraid of blood?”  He noticed Psych’s discomfort.   

“N-no…” Psych denied.  He hissed when Mastermind dabbed the cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and ran it against the bleeding area.    

“You should be careful next time,” the scientist scolded him.  “You’re going to attract more monsters with that bleeding arm.”  He ran the cotton ball down his arm again before throwing it away into a trash bag.  The alcohol quickly evaporated from Psych’s skin, leaving a cool stinging sensation.   

“Then more Moonstones for me,” Psych let out an injured laugh.

“And more work for me…”

“What did you say?” The tracer narrowed his eyes.

“I mean that you’ll be falling behind because of your arm,” Mastermind said it in the bluntest way possible.  “I don’t see why you bother fighting up close when your dynamo can do it for you.” Was that fear in his voice?  Psych quickly dismissed it.

“I wish you would stop doing that,” Psych said quietly.

“Doing what?” Mastermind was confused.  He glanced at his handiwork, checking to make sure the bandage was tied tightly enough around the injured arm.

“Acting like you’re older and better than me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You keep doing all this stuff,” Psych tried to explain, face turning bright red.  “You keep fussing over me.”  He rubbed the bandaged area in irritation and ripped his arm away from Mastermind, “I don’t know why you keep acting like this.  Ever since you became a Mastermind, you treated me like I can’t take care of myself.  It’s like you’re a different person… Stop babying me!”

“So this is how it is, huh?” The scientist said in a low tone.    

“I…”

“You’ve said enough,” he didn’t let Psych finish his sentence.  “I’ll leave you alone.”

Psych felt his stomach plummet to the ground when Mastermind gave him a hurt expression that didn’t suit him. _This isn’t fair_ , the tracer thought to himself.  Why did his words come out like that?  He didn’t mean to have his sentence be harsh.  It just annoyed him to have Mastermind constantly clear the dungeons faster than he did and always standing one step ahead of him.  Psych was sick of facing his back.  He wanted to walk beside him and be his equal, not stand below as a tracer forever.             

“Mastermind!”

The scientist flew to the next dungeon on his dynamo, never looking back at Psych, who ran after him and called out his name.  The tracer ignored the burning sensation his arm was giving him, determined to get his attention.  A group of monsters sprung out of nowhere, but Psych easily ran through them with Quake Buster.  The line of creatures shriveled from the explosive attack, clashing against a row of bookshelves behind them.

“Mastermind!” He nearly screamed, “Wait!” _Don’t leave me._        

The tracer glanced at the scientist, who had glazed eyes, a sign that he was angry.  Mastermind ran past him as if he wasn’t there and had his dynamo launch at the creatures.  Their cries drowned out Psych’s, forcing him to cover his ears.

“Hey!” Psych persisted after him, shooting down another monster from the side.  “Stop ignoring me!”  Still no response.  “Look at me, Arc!”

Mastermind suddenly stopped in his place and stared at Psych wide eyed.  His dynamo froze in place along with their master, still in the middle of fighting.  Psych finally caught up to him, barely catching his breath when he saw something charging towards them in his peripheral vision.

The tracer cried out a warning, a horde of monsters teamed up and threw themselves high enough to land on Mastermind’s dynamo.  Mastermind quickly exterminated the monsters, throwing them off of his weapons, but the damage has already been done.  He moved his weapons, but Psych saw that the movements were jagged and uneven.  Bits of wire stuck out of one of the dynamo and the ends of the weapon had teeth marks all over it.  Electricity sparked from some of the other dynamo, barely able to align themselves in a straight line.    

“It doesn’t work?” Psych asked stupidly, examining the broken dynamo from afar.   

“I can’t fight with them like this,” the other shook his head.  “Not without accidentally hurting myself.  It would be stupid of me to try to.”

 _This was not supposed to happen_ , the tracer kept telling himself.  A trip that should have been speedy with little problem was turning into a disaster.  His only companion’s weapons were broken, leaving them practically useless, and he was the only one capable of fighting back with an injured arm.  There was only one option left and Psych didn’t want to think about it.  Unfortunately, Mastermind seemed to have arrived to the same conclusion as he had and announced it.       

“Well, I guess we’ll have to work together.” The scientist gave him a sarcastic chuckle and grinned, “You’ll have to carry me through this dungeon.”

Fan-fucking-tastic.  

* * *

“You don’t need to keep doing this,” Mastermind repeated that sentence for the umpteenth time as they ran through up a ledge.  His dynamo sent out a weak shock at a glitter monster that flung itself in his direction.           

“I don’t need you passing out on me because you’re too weak to finish it on your own,” Psych absentmindedly took down the monster Mastermind aggravated.

“That would be a shame, wouldn’t it?” A small smile formed on his thin lips.  “That’s the last one for now.” He inspected the monsters’ remains, “I think you should have enough for that experiment of yours.”  

Not that he was going to be honest, but Psych kept a close eye on Mastermind, always staying close within range with him.  After picking apart the damaged dynamo, the scientist had managed to set up the weapons so that they could still somewhat function.  However, their power was very limited, not enough for him to fight on his own.  Psych had to finish off the monsters for him.  This was only temporary until they could get back to town and fix the dynamo.  

Mastermind caught on quite early and never strayed too far from Psych, eyes often leading to the injured arm with an unreadable expression.  With a small laugh, he told Psych not to worry about him too much, but the help was appreciated.  The tracer didn’t believe a single word.  

“Thank you…for not leaving me behind.”  Mastermind uttered, causing Psych to look at him in confusion.  “You could have easily left me here to die.  Thanks.”

Was he trying to make the tracer feel guilty?  Psych sighed, “Don’t talk like that.  Leaving you here…” He felt a sharp shiver down his spine at the thought of it.  “You annoy me, but I don’t hate you.”

When Mastermind fought, his eyes narrowed, too focused on maintaining that composed air he was always careful to maintain even in battle.  Staying close to him however, Psych caught glimpses of something else from his expressions and actions. Mastermind kept closing his hands into a ball of fist with his mind off in deep thought, eyes often darting all over the area.  At first Psych thought it was because of exhaustion from the fighting or perhaps a sign of extra precaution, but after seeing the repeated physical ticks even while resting, the tracer realized that it was something else.  It was a habit he carried on from the time he was an Arc Tracer.  Mastermind was nervous.

For the first time in a long while, Psych kept eye contact, to get a full view of him.  Strange how his mind always formed the impression that Mastermind looked older than he was.  In reality, the scientist had the same face as Psych.  His bangs flopped to the left side of his face, making him appear rather meek and shy.  Pale skin and big eyes made Mastermind seem young, a contrast with the shadows underneath his eyes.  His hair was tied to a small ponytail, revealing chubby cheeks that easily turned pink under the hot sun, easy to mistaken as a young teenager.  Without his functioning dynamo, Mastermind, dare he said it, looked vulnerable.  He looked more like a child in oversize clothes than a young man.     

“You called me Arc earlier,” Mastermind said.  There was an awkward pause from the scientist.  Was he offended?  Surprised?  “I guess it’s easier to say than Mastermind, isn’t it?”

Psych gawked at the sheepish smile the scientist wore.  How was he supposed to respond to that?  If his calculations were correct, this was supposed to be the last room.  He kicked down the last metal gate and peeked inside, careful in case there was a surprise attack.  It was nearly pitch black.  No light besides those from the flamed torches and a lone mosaic reached the inside of it.  He was used to fighting in dark places, but something about the flames didn’t look natural.        

“Why don’t you call me Add?” Mastermind asked when he received no answer from the tracer.  “Well, both of us are Add…but…”  He sounded embarrassed, “You can be Add if you want.”

“That’s fine,” Psych waved his hand.  “I’ll call you Add.”  It didn’t matter who was who.  He went through so many nicknames in his lifetime that it didn’t matter what his counterpart called him.

“I’ll think of something to call you,” the other fumbled over his words.

A low roaring sound echoed through the room, sending seismic waves through the carpeted floor.  Bookshelves around them shook, sending books and cobwebs flying in their direction.  A sudden drift picked up from behind, creating a strong wind current that tossed a few chairs in the room high into the air.  A dark figure cloaked in purple and chains materialized in front of Psych and Add, emitting purple flames from its hands.  Psych felt his heart stop beating.  A ghost?  He turned to see Add just as shocked.                

“We can worry about names after we get out of this wretched place!” Psych eyes were on the ghost that appeared before them.      

Mastermind mouthed, “No possible,” still staring at the creature.

“Come on, let’s go!” He grabbed Add by the arm and dragged him along.

Add’s weight became apparent when they narrowly avoided the ghost’s flames.  Psych pushed Add by the back, forcing him to curl into a ball and jump away when the ghost made a deep bellow and had dark energy rain down on them.  They landed on the other side of the room, facing opposite direction of where it was facing.

Add seemed to have recover from his initial shock and screamed, “Panzer Buster!”

Waves of electricity ran through the dark figure, barely enough to make the monster flinch.  No good, the dynamo was too weak to be used at full force.  Mastermind tried another attack, but the ghost was faster and shot fire to him.  Add automatically protected himself with his temporary dynamo, enough to stop the crackling flames from reaching his face.  Psych avoided the fire and used his weapons to clear the flames from Add.                

While the ghost was distracted, Psych let go of Add’s arm and ran from a different direction with his dynamo.  His magnetrons followed close behind him, torpedoing towards the creature at high speed, hitting it squarely in the chest.  Add saw the opportunity and formed several orbs surrounding the disarmed enemy.  The energy orbs glowed in the dim room, forming a star formation around the ghost.  The ghost let out a low pitch scream when Add’s pylons inflicted damage, forcing it to remain stationary in its place from the pain.

“Finish it!” He shouted at Psych.

“Quake Buster!”

He jumped and threw a high kick into the air, sending destructive energy at it, sending the ghost flying across the room.  It let out an inhuman cry, reaching out to the ceiling with shadowed hands before evaporating into the stuffy air.  The only sign that it ever existed was the cloak it left behind.

* * *

Add felt something heavy fall on his lap.  He felt the rough surface of the foreign object with one hand, yet it was smooth on the other side.  It was a Moonstone they have collected from the trip to the underground chapel.  It was roughly the size of an orange, small enough for Add to be able to hold it in his palm.    

“Here.”  Psych shoved it into Add’s hand, “You can take it.”

“You’re not thinking of giving me all of those, are you?” Mastermind glared at the bag the tracer had in his hand.  Judging from the size and weight of the bag, it looked like it had all of the stones they have collected.  What was Psych thinking?       

“What if I said I was going to?” He pouted, not caring how childish he sounded.  “You broke your dynamo and you’ll probably use it for research.”

“I don’t need this much,” Add stressed.  “And I think you need it more than I do.  Your dynamo look like they’re reaching their limits.”    

Psych would have normally objected that statement and maybe even pick on a fight with the scientist, but he chose not to.  He was toying with one of his dynamo, balancing one with his uninjured arm in amusement.  Maybe Add was right…his dynamo were starting to show slower reactions to his commands, or was it because he was getting stronger and faster and his dynamo couldn’t keep up with him?  He was too tired to think further on that.  After they returned back to the apartment they shared, the tracer collapsed on the sofa in the living room and slept for nearly twelve hours.  The tracer woke up to the smell of burning food and had to go fix a meal for the two of them.     

“I don’t even know if this is going to work,” Psych admitted. “This trip could have been all for nothing.”

“Then we can always go back and try again,” Mastermind said.

“I…no.”  He shook his head.

“Why not?” The other demanded to know, “I thought perfecting the nasod armor was important to do you.”  Why was Add suddenly so insistent on this?   

He didn’t want to try out the Moonstones, only to find out that they weren’t compatible with his technology and that Add’s life was put on the line because of a simple error in theory.  The tracer didn’t want to think about that.  If the Moonstones turned out to be another failure, was he willing to bring Add with him on another trip?  How much longer was Mastermind willing to put up with those failures?

“What’s bothering you?” Add asked, staring into his eyes, “What are you hiding?”

“Why do you keep helping me?” The tracer bit his lips, “Even though you know I’m going to fail?”

Mastermind blinked, taken aback by his question.  “I’m helping you for the same reason we’re living together,” Add said, choosing his words with care. There was some hesitance in his tone; he looked distracted by his own thoughts.  “Because I don’t want to see you fail.  I don’t want to see you crying by yourself when it turns out you did something wrong or made a mistake.  As selfish and narcissistic as it sounds, I don’t want to see myself suffer so much.”

Psych froze in his spot, not expecting a long answer from Add.  Before he could properly say something in return, Psych felt something.  Add was standing a few inches away from him to wipe a tear that was running down the tracer’s cheek.  Tears?  Add’s hand felt so warm against his face.  Psych closed his eyes with a soft sigh.     

Eyes closed, Psych felt his tears dry up.  When he opened them again, Add was still there with him, showing little signs of leaving.  It couldn’t be helped since they shared the same living arrangements, but it still felt different when it has become more common for Mastermind to lock himself up for days.  Add’s attention was all on him.

“There’s no guarantee this is going to work,” Psych whispered, referring to the Moonstones.  “This might end up as a waste of time.”

“It’s not a waste of time,” he insisted.  “And if it fails, then we’ll go back and find another method.”

“This isn’t even your weapon,” Psych argued.  “This-“

He stopped when Add pulled him over, their faces merely inches away from one another.  The tracer felt Mastermind’s hot breath touching his skin, making his cheeks glow red.  They were close, but Add threw him a question look, mouthing words for permission.  Psych stiffly nodded, barely registering what was going on.  His vision went unfocused, blurred by tears and emotions.

His lips grew hot once it came into contact with Add’s, sweet and chaste.  Their lips moved together in a clumsy manner that only left them attempting again, trying to stay synchronized.  Psych’s hands grabbed hold of Add’s shoulders, almost digging into them as a way to remain close to reality.  If the scientist was experiencing any discomfort from his fingernails, he didn’t express it.  When they finally let go, Psych saw that Mastermind’s cheeks were just as flustered as his were.          

“Psych!” His voice was hoarse, just as surprised as the tracer was on the kiss.

“You…” Psych finally found his voice again after the short kiss.  “You really mean all of that?”  He couldn’t trust himself to be sure.  “You would go back with me?  Even if I fail?”

“You’re not going to fail,” Add said with reassurance, cheeks still red.  “You’ll keep trying until the answer is in front of your eyes.  I know you will, because you’re more stubborn than me.”  He then added, “And I have a good feeling about this one.”  The white haired teen placed the Moonstone into Psych’s palm, “Are you willing to try again?”

Psych still had one hand on Add’s shoulders, not ready to separate.  He touched his arm with shaking hands, anything to show him that what just happened was real and that it wasn’t a dream.  The tracer brushed his own lips with his fingertips, feeling a bit of the Moonstone’s rough edge in his hand.  The kiss felt strange to him, his lips felt different afterward.    

“Thanks for helping me back there,” the scientist thanked him with a tiny smile.  “Really, I’m glad we went together.  It was…fun.”

“Heh,” Psych gave a quiet laugh, but it wasn’t a sarcastic one for once.  “You sure have a strange idea of what fun is.”  He held up the Moonstone with one hand to his eye level and smiled, “Yeah…I think this is going to work.”


End file.
